1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cases and cabinets for storing and displaying documents and other objects. The invention incorporates features particularly suitable for exterior mounting of the case, for providing weather protection, and for accepting insertion and storage of diverse articles in the case.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Construction sites are by their nature unfinished and ill suited to accommodate paper documents and small personal articles which may be necessary or desirable to have at hand. Temporary storage sheds may in part fill the need, but are not designed to provide dedicated storage spaces to small articles and do not accommodate display of documents such as building permits which may be required by municipal authorities to be prominently displayed on site.
The present invention improves upon prior art display cases, including the present inventor's prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,821,440, issued on Apr. 18, 1989, and 5,664,851, issued Sep. 9, 1997. Display of construction permits is the principal function of these device. The former describes a case having a clear or transparent hinged cover and an internal tack board for securing paper documents by tacks, staples, or other fasteners in a visible condition. The device is intended primarily for convenient, protected display of documents which are generally required to be visible and accessible to passers by. The latter describes a number of features not hitherto incorporated into display cases. Many of these features are further developed and refined in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,212, issued to Darlene M. McGoldrick on Jun. 24, 1980, describes a display case having a clear or transparent door and a mounting board disposed within the base portion of the display case. The mounting board has a plurality of nails or the like from which jewelry may be suspended. These features are similar to some of those of the present invention. However, McGoldrick is silent regarding molded construction as seen in the novel display case, as well as regarding the many unique features of the novel display case.
A door for accepting insertion of letters and the like into a storage box is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 749,154, issued to George E. Benton on Jan. 12, 1904. The door is located beneath a protective hood. The present invention includes a slot formed in a soffit wall for receiving letters and the like and for protecting the interior of the novel display case from drippage. The slot and its soffit differ from the rain hood of Benton. Benton sheds no light on the many novel improvements shown in the present invention.
French Patent 2,270,654, dated Dec. 5, 1975, shows a display case having a transparent cover and a rear surface configured to cooperate with a supporting post or the like. However, the rear surface does not accommodate different orientations of the post relative to the display cabinet, as provided in the present invention.
In summary, the prior art shows some of the features of the present invention, but these features vary from corresponding features in the present invention. Furthermore, construction of a display case as a single part by injection molding, as practiced in the present invention, is not shown in the prior art.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.